June 2012, I went to the TPP conference in San Diego, representing the Orange Juice Blog. It was open to anyone in media, so I thought I would be among many local and national television journalists… boy, was I wrong! After the event I understood why. Corporate owned media has no desire to let the public in on their “dirty little secret.” If corporations get their way, it will affect the lives of everyone on the planet … and not in a “good” way. It means even lower wages for Americans; the end to environmental and food protections; the end to worker safety. In a nutshell, corporations will become the new World Government. Their rules will supersede any sovereign countries’ laws. For example, if the United States dislikes what Monsanto is doing to their farm lands, a secret investor-trade tribunal will decide who wins. Corporations will have the power to sue anyone who challenges them, and I mean anyone! If you want to be brought up to speed, read my post from last year here.

Corporations suing countries in order to get their way, has already been happening since NAFTA was implemented in 1994. For example, S.D.Meyers, a United States waste treatment company, challenged the temporary Canadian ban on PCB exports. The investor-trade tribunal under NAFTA ruled in the company’s favor and ordered Canada to pay them $5 million dollars.

The way the wording in the TPP agreement is shaped, these same corporations, both foreign and domestic can sue the United States if they don’t get what they want. Corporations are seen as sovereign and do not have to abide by local or federal government rules. TPPA is NAFTA on steroids!

All the work social movements have worked hard for and won over the past decades, will become null and void. Forget about the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. The world will have a “new sheriff” in town. So what does our Commander-in-Chief have to say about this? “Fast track it!” — that’s what. Currently there are twelve countries who are part of this agreement and corporations are hoping to get this deal finalized by the end of this year.

You can do something to stop this … first watch the video below. Then sign the petition to tell trade representatives for all the countries involved, to create a trade agreement that works for working families. TPP is going to happen BUT we can change the rules before its too late.

And on a final note (for now) — remember, it was a brave, concerned whistleblower who leaked these documents to the public in the first place. If it were not for that person’s bravery, our government (owned by corporations) would have allowed this agreement to go through, without input from anyone who will be affected by it. We all need to become whistleblowers and stand up to the Plutocratic Oligarchythat now threatens to rule the world. Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning gave up their FREEDOMS to expose those who have no problem stomping on YOUR freedoms in order to keep themselves in power. We need to find the courage they did and tell these bullies NO!

I fear that before any significant change occurs, Americans are going to have to get over their fondness for rugged individualism. We need to speak with one voice on these issues. The corporate and political elites don’t care about individualism. That’s the irony with these idiots that admire Ayn Rand; in reality, they promote a system whereby corporate and political elites are working together to concentrate power with themselves. They’re the furthest thing from individualists.

I’ve been reading Steve Coll’s “Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power” and found this passage revealing;

“ExxonMobil’s interests were global, not national. Once, at an industry meeting in Washington, an executive present asked Raymond (Lee Raymond, former Chairman and CEO) whether Exxon might build more refineries inside the United States, to help protect the country against potential gasoline shortages.

“Why would I want to do that?” Raymand asked, as the executive recalled it.

“Because the United States needs it…for security,” the executive replied.

“I’m not a U.S. company and I don’t make decisions based on what’s good for the U.S.,” Raymond said.

well, at least this guy is honest about how he makes decisions. You are both correct, Americans need to change their mindset and I don’t know how that can be achieved. They seem to be easily swayed into buying more crap they cannot afford and do not need. We are all in this together and what happens overseas effects us over here. Maybe, when the majority lose their jobs and are rehired at less than half pay…they will wake up.